Repairing defective masonry walls



March 23, 1937. w. J. SHEILS 2,074,566

REPAIRING DEFECTIVE MASONRY WALLS Filed Jan. 25, 1935 1% .1. J J 24+ Z0 14 J'zw.

Patented Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

Old masonry Walls frequently sag or settle thereby producing cracks, cleavages and voids and loose material therein which weaken the wall and permit the entrance of water, freezing temperal tures and other destructive elements, and cocasionally new walls turn out to be defective due to the porosity or other failure of the material or design to withstand the passage of moisture therethrough. Defective or insufficient mortar, incompetent labor and conditions incidental thereto usually lead to defective joints in the masonry, whereby the wall is weakened and per mits the ingress of water and destructive elements, not only rendering the wall ineffective and unsafe but also leading to its rapid deterioration. The object of my invention herein is the production of a relatively simple and economical method of repairing such walls in a manner correcting these defects and bonding the Wall with the loose material therein into a solid and substantial 'unit, whereby the wall becomes impervious to the passage of moisture and relatively safe against further deterioration and possible danger of collapsing.

Masonry walls are commonly built in sections or courses, two or more of such sections or courses constituting the wall, and these Walls frequently are or become defective in one or more respects, as above pointed out. Attempts have been made I to correct defective joints, cracks and cleavages are not apparent from the appearance of the outer face of the wall, and furthermore the pointing up of the outer face is only a relatively superficial and temporary repair since it does not reach into the interior of the wall. I have discovered that all the above-stated defects can be effectively and economically cured by the application of grout in liquid form to the interior of the Wall and that the defective joints can be located and. permanently and effectively repointed in con- 50 junction with this treatment.

My invention contemplates the projecting of grout in a flowing condition and under confined pressure into the interior of the wall to be treated, whereupon the grout passes into the space be- 55 tween the wall sections and along the inner surfaces of said sections and seeks out andfills all voids and bonds all units and loose portions into a single unit with the wall. The manner of projecting the grout into the wall is of secondary importance only although the same must, by means of its own weight or otherwise, provide or be provided with sufiicient confined pressure within the wall to flow laterally into all cracks and voids.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation of a wall being repaired in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the completion of the repair in accordance with my invention; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modified form of the treatment.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing by reference characters, I have in Fig. l illustrated one exposed face of a defective brick t vall being treated in accordance with my invention. The wall has several defective joints l0, some"ap parent and others hidden, a crack ll caused by sagging of the wall, and various other weak spots including voids and loose pieces within the wall. The Wall, as illustrated in Fig. 2, comprises three sections or columns I2 with a relatively narrow air space M between adjacent sections. It is apparent that the wall cannot be effectively repaired against the passage of rain and weather conditions by pointing up the holes which are apparent from the exposed face thereof, and furthermore that such pointing treatment can, at best, be only of a temporary nature because of its superficial character. On the other hand, the treatment comprising my invention goes basicly to the interior of the wall and thus provides a complete and thorough repair.

My invention contemplates the projecting of grout in flowing condition and under confined pressure into the spaces l4, whereupon the grout flows therethrough in contact with the adjacent faces of the sections I 2 and laterally into all voids in communication with the spaces. In treating a wall from the exposed face thereof, I employ a pipe l6 and means connected therewith for flowing grout therethrough. This means, as illustrated in Fig. 1, may be a hose I8 and a hopper 20, the hose permitting the hopper to be elevated to a position providing a desired amount of pressure. In proceeding with the treatment, an opening is made through a joint, the flattened nozzle end 22 of the pipe is projected therethrough, and the joint is calked with oakum, jute or other suitable material 23 around the pipe. Grout 24 is then flowed through the nozzle and into the space I4, a valve 25 being provided for stopping the flow if such control is required.

The grout may be projected into the wall under suflicient pressure to force the same into all cracks and voids, the pressure being provided by gravity, by a pump, air pressure or any suitable and convenient means. As illustrated in the drawing, the grout projected into the space M flows downwardly and laterally by gravity between and substantially as illustrated by the lines 26 of Fig. 1, and the pressure thereon causes the grout to flow outwardly through all defective jointsand openings, as indicated at 21. i As such openingsbecomeapparent, they are calked, as illustrated at 28, whereby to stop outward fiow ,of gr out therefrom. As each portion treated becomes filled, the nozzle is moved to and an adjacent portion treated, as indicated at 30 in Fig. 1. It should be noted that the moisture from the groutpasses outwardly throughthe joints, and alsothrough unglazed bricks or like units, sufficiently to moisten the outer face of the wall, as

30 between the lines 26, and thus at all times indicates the extent of the interior of the wall which is being treated. When the grout within the wall has become set, the calkings 28 are removed, as indicated at .3 l and the openings filled and pointed up with mortar, as indicated at 32. It will be apparent that this surface-pointing mortar bonds directly to and forms a mechanical unit with the grout within the wall.

Another method of procedure which is frev quently employed to advantage involves the removal of a brick from the wall and substituting therefor a wood block 34 having a nozzle pipe 36 extending therethrough, the space around the block being calked, as illustrated at 38. It may also be stated that in some cases where the condition of the wall is in doubt, water is first applied to the wall for the purpose of observing the interior condition. Passage of water into the wall indicates voids. If this preliminary treatso ment indicates that the wall is defective and conon whereby the wall becomes impervious to the passage .of moisture and relatively safe against further deterioration and possible danger of collapsing. The protective layer is a permanent remedy for porous or semi-porous walls and serves to prevent the entrance of moisture and other weather conditions, thereby eliminating efliorescence and other deteriorative effects caused by exposure. It will furthermore be apparent that in waterproofing a wall in accordance with my invention, it is not necessary to point up all joints, but only the defective joints and these defective joints are all apparent because in the grouting operation the grout with the pressure existing on it leaks through all defective joints and shows a stain on the face of the wall. The pointing up material bonds directly to and cooperates with the grout within the wall, whereby the surface pointing becomes an integral part of the wall. Where the mortar between the individual units does not extend the full depth of the unit, and does not show a leak when the grout is forced in, this new grout fills the voids around these joints deficient in depth and mechanically bonds these joints to the entire wall. In this manner all existing joints, whether defective to the exterior face of the wall or only interiorly defective, become an integral part of the wall.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of locating and repairing defective joints in old walls of brick and the like, consisting of projecting a nozzle into an opening through an exposed face of the wall, forcing grout through the nozzle and into the wall and along the inner surfaces thereof, whereupon the grout is flowed under confined pressure outwardly throughand exposes the defective joints, and surface pointing the defective joints at said exposed face by applying plastic pointing material thereto and in contact with the grout therein.

2.A method of locating and repairing defective joints in old walls of brick and the like, consisting of projecting a nozzle into anopening through an exposed face of the wall, forcing grout through the nozzle and into the wall and along the. inner surfaces thereof, whereupon the grout is flowed under confined pressure outwardly through and exposes the defective joints, calking said joints at said exposed face to stop the flow of grout, removing the calking when the grout has set, and applying plastic pointing material in'lieu of the calking.

3. A method of repairing defective spots in old walls of brick and the like, consisting of removing a brick from'an exposed section of the wall, substituting therefor a filler block having a grout conveying nozzle therein, and forcing grout through the nozzle and into the wall and along the inner surfaces thereof under sufiicient confined pressuretoilcause the grout to seek out and fill said spots andvoids in the wall and bond into a unit with the wall all loosematerial therein.

WILLIAM J. SHEILS. 

